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New laying hens quit laying

J

John in MD

Member
Location
Md
Four weeks ago I bought 36 red pullets 21 weeks old. Brought them home put them in the pen and was averaging 30 eggs per day. Wife said to many hens can"t move all the small eggs. We kept 6 and sold the rest, was getting 5 or 6 eggs a day. Now 2 weeks later and only getting 3 eggs a day and yolks are pale not dark like they were. Hens appearance have changed, the 3 that are laying have bright combs and wattles and the 3 that stopped laying now look like immature pullets. Haven"t changed feed or anything else. Can this be caused by shortening hours of daylight or what?
 
egg production drops when chickens molt.
right time of year
also, adding Apple Cider Vinegar to their water.
helps keep them healthy, hence more eggs.
 
You have gotten a sickness of some kind in them and the rest will probably end up same way. They are too young to be molting.
 
How can you tell which ones are laying and which ones aren't? Also, how often do hens molt? My 15 hens have been laying pretty good for 15 months now and there has been no visible (at least to me) difference in their appearance. All still have full feathers...looking good. Egg production does vary now from 8-12 eggs per day as opposed to 12-15 the first 10 months.
I did attribute the drop in production to the summer heat.
 
Different chickens can react in different ways. That being said - they need 14 hours of light to lay their best. Some will go into a moult when below 12 hours.

Where I am in NY, sunrise is 7 AM and sundown is 6:45 PM. Since we're between two mountains, we're getting substantially less then 12 hours of light right now. Our 8 hens just got done moulting and are laying 2-4 eggs a day now. We don't want more eggs then that so we're not using any artificial lighting. Dominiques, Barred Rocks, and Rhode Island Reds.
 
Most chickens will slow down as the days get shorter.

They"re all a little different in how quickly, or when that happens.

It can happen rather suddenly.

Throw a light in the coop on a timer and make sure they get a solid 13 hours of light every day and you can eliminate that as a variable.

Stress will also effect them - might not at first, so they kept laying for a while, but a new home can certainly slow them down for a bit as they get used to new surroundings, food, and pecking order.

I wouldn"t worry about it. If anything dump some electrolytes into their water for a week or so. Make sure they"re eating ok - watch the poop to make sure it"s not all runny or bloody or anything else crazy.

I think you"ll find they"re just being chickens, acting on their own laying schedule.
 
(quoted from post at 08:23:20 09/27/13) How can you tell which ones are laying and which ones aren't? Also, how often do hens molt? My 15 hens have been laying pretty good for 15 months now and there has been no visible (at least to me) difference in their appearance. All still have full feathers...looking good. Egg production does vary now from 8-12 eggs per day as opposed to 12-15 the first 10 months.
I did attribute the drop in production to the summer heat.
Click to expand...

Simple but you have to be a perv...

Grab the chicken. Invert it. Check out its vent (but hole). A laying chicken will have a vent that looks like Angelina Jolies's lips. A non laying chicken will have a vent that looks like Frank Burn's lips (ya know, the guy from the show MASH).

You will be able to see what chickens are laying and which ones are not by compairing.
 
Ditto on the light!! Last Saturday was Equinox, days are same length as nights (12 hrs.). A light for a total of 13-14 hrs will do wonders. Keep in mind that all chickens will molt at one time or another. The extra light will shorten that, not completely eliminate it.

http://www.grit.com/animals/molting-what-is-it--how-to-help-chickens-get-through-it.aspx#axzz2g9WQRCz3

Hope this helps! Ralph in OK.
 
If it looks like Nancy Pelosi's face , Back Off It's getting ready for a major bowel movement ! (And your taxes could even be increasing.)
 
We just line them up and make chicken soup out of the slowest layer, that kick starts the others into shape!
 
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